Agriculture

Baltimore Customs and Border Protection agents have ordered a shipping container of rice from Pakistan to be sent back or destroyed in an effort to block a destructive, invasive beetle from entering the United States. Customs officials said in a statement that entomologists confirmed on Friday that a 46,200-pound container that came through the Port of Baltimore contained 40 dead larvae of the Khapra beetle, which they called the largest infestation they have seen in Baltimore since 1996 and 1987.

Farm subsidies could finally be on the chopping block. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack recently acknowledged that corn and ethanol "subsidies need to be phased out" over time. And on a swing through Iowa, Mr. Vilsack suggested that the Obama administration will support some cuts in next year's budget. On the right, Sen. Richard Lugar, Republican of Indiana, has called for an end to sugar subsidies, and the budget plan from Republican Rep. Paul Ryan of Wisconsin would reduce agricultural handouts - which often go to large corporate farmers - by $30 billion over 10 years.

While I agree that farm pollution must be addressed in the Chesapeake Bay cleanup program, last week's editorial "Faulty stewardship" (Jan. 14) failed to mention a critical dichotomy that exists in farming. Most farm-based pollution comes from farms that are contracted by big food corporations, and in Maryland this generally means concentrated chicken farms under contract from Perdue. These contracts force farmers to be servants to the corporate profit margin by endangering the health of themselves, the animals and the environment.

For more than a generation, efforts to clean up the Chesapeake Bay have treated the family farmer as gently as one might a friend or relative. Where other industries have been forced to meet more stringent rules and taxpayers have shelled out billions of dollars for better sewage treatment plants and the like, agriculture has been given more subsidies and incentives and offered more voluntary regulations than any other major polluter. And make no mistake — agriculture is a major polluter.

One of the largest employers in Somerset County on the Eastern Shore plans to lay off more than 100 employees when it closes a facility early next year, the state said Tuesday. LFC Agricultural Services Inc., which employs 103 in Westover, Md., warned state labor officials that it is shutting down its operations there starting Feb. 1. Only a few firms in Somerset County employ more people, according to the state. The county's unemployment rate has averaged more than 10 percent this year, significantly above Maryland's overall rate.

It is long past time for Maryland to regulate pesticides in a manner that properly protects people and the environment. This is unlikely under the current watchdog, the Maryland Department of Agriculture (MDA), whose actions tend to reflect the interests of the Farm Bureau and chemical-based pest control and lawncare industries. That is why Gov. Martin O'Malley should transfer authority over pesticides from the MDA to the Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE), whose staff includes medical and science professionals far better equipped to develop objective, science-based environmental and public health regulatory policy.

The Maryland Agricultural Resource Council, a nonprofit organization that supports the state's farming industry, will hold an open house Saturday at the Baltimore County Center for Maryland Agriculture in Cockeysville. Visitors can tour the facility and the 140-acre grounds from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., see demonstrations in the latest farming technology, meet the staff and purchase fresh local products. The center is at 1114 Shawan Road. Information: marylandagriculture.org/wp/ or 410-887-8570.

Baltimore County has opened a $10 million agriculture center that will offer hands-on education in productive farming, research opportunities in the latest technology and year-round demonstrations in farm management. Officials said the facility promises meeting space to 4-H clubs, land associations and community groups and recreational opportunities for area residents. The Baltimore County Center for Maryland Agriculture, which opened officially Wednesday, spans 150 acres along Shawan Road in Hunt Valley.

Another article in a series about the people and the jobs that define a Maryland summer. Amanda Clougherty takes a step back and surveys rows of pumpkins, tomatoes and watermelons splayed across tables inside the 4-H building at the Timonium Fairgrounds. Surrounding the vegetables and fruits are photographs, baked goods and other projects representing the months-long efforts of thousands of youngsters in statewide 4-H programs. "It's really starting to shape up," Clougherty says, despite the clutter.

Nathan Holloway, 14, has spent his boyhood on the family farm in Darlington and plans to spend his high school years laying the groundwork for a future in agriculture. "I want to live my life in an agricultural business," said Nathan. "My grandparents and my parents grew up on the farm. I want to get a solid background and stay on the farm. " As a member of the first class in Harford County's Natural Resources and Agricultural Sciences magnet program, he soon will apply all the practical experience from life on 100-acre livestock farm and orchard to course work.